Pagcor gives gifts to 300 poor families

MANILA, Philippines - Some 300 indigent children and their families from Quezon City received yesterday early Christmas gifts from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) as part of the agency’s annual gift-giving.

The agency’s “Bayanihan: Pamaskong Handog ng PAGCOR 2012” project kicked off yesterday, making the poor families under the care of the Lingap Pangkabataan, Inc. in Cubao, Quezon City its first beneficiary.

Lingap is an institution that takes care of indigent, destitute, abandoned and orphaned children, their families and communities. PAGCOR allocated more than P400,000 worth of grocery items and desktop computers for Lingap.

PAGCOR also assisted the institution in the rehabilitation of its reading center. The agency also donated six sets of computers and printers for the use of their wards.

Mario Liwag, chairman of Lingap’s board of trustees, said PAGCOR’s early Christmas gifts – particularly the reading center, which is being used as an alternative learning venue – will have a great impact on the less fortunate children under the institution’s care.

“The new reading center and the new computer sets will not only help in their studies but also motivate them to pursue a better life than be on the streets,” Liwag said.